A Certain Ratio - ACR:EPC (EP) - Cornflower Blue Vinyl

A Certain Ratio have spent decades proving that rhythm can be a worldview, and ACR:EPC is one of those releases that reminds you why DJs and crate diggers still swear by this band. Issued by Mute in 2021 as the middle entry in a trio of EPs that spelled out A C R across the year, it lands like a compact manifesto. The Manchester lifers tighten the screws on their post punk funk engine, then drive it hard. You get the rubbery pulse of Jez Kerr’s bass, Donald Johnson’s crisp drums pushing the groove forward, and Martin Moscrop’s guitar and trumpet flickering like city lights through steam. It’s lean. It’s percussive. It’s got that unmistakable ACR patience, where the pocket comes first and everything else falls obediently in line.

Context helps. The band had just come off ACR Loco in 2020, a late period surge that felt celebratory and loose. The 2021 EP run sharpened that burst of energy into focused statements, with ACR:EPC sitting at the heart of it. Across the trilogy they roped in friends and new voices, and you can hear how the group relish space, texture, and the give and take of players who know when to leave air in a groove. That’s always been their trick. Back in the Factory days they never chased the obvious chorus. They built latticework rhythms you could live inside. This EP keeps that faith.

There’s a deliberate physicality to these cuts. Congas, shakers, rimshots, and that taut hi hat create the scaffolding, while the bass writes its own sly melodies. The guitar chops in short phrases, sometimes nearly percussive itself, and then a splashed trumpet line lifts the mood for a few bars before the band slides back into the pocket. It’s the sound of players who trust repetition, not as a rut but as a trance. Put it on while making dinner and you’ll find yourself chopping to tempo without thinking. Put it on late and you might start reorganizing your plans around its pulse.

The production is clean and unfussy, the way A Certain Ratio records often are, with every instrument given room to speak. Nothing is slathered in effects for the sake of it. That clarity matters on vinyl, and ACR:EPC vinyl brings out the bounce in the low end and the subtle grit in the percussion. If you’ve ever fallen in love with those early 12 inches because the drums felt like they were in the room with you, this scratches the same itch. It also slots beautifully next to A Certain Ratio albums on vinyl from different eras. You can flip between a Factory classic and this 2021 set and hear the through-line as well as the decades of lived-in craft.

One reason fans warmed to the 2021 EPs is the sense of community around them. A Certain Ratio have long been generous collaborators, and the series drew in voices that complement rather than crowd the band’s identity. The cumulative effect across ACR:EPA, ACR:EPC, and ACR:EPR is a portrait of a group that’s still curious, still moving. That arc helps this middle chapter land with extra weight. It feels like the hinge that keeps the set balanced, the most distilled of the three.

If you’re browsing a bin and spot A Certain Ratio vinyl, chances are you already know how dependable they are for DJing or just soundtrack duty at home. This EP is a sleeper favorite for that purpose. The grooves ride a sweet spot where you can either sink in or actively follow the interplay, and that makes it a smart add if you buy A Certain Ratio records online and want something that earns repeat plays. ACR:EPC is also a tidy recommendation piece. Hand it to someone who likes Talking Heads deep cuts, ESG, or Liquid Liquid, and watch their eyebrows go up when the percussion kicks in.

The artwork for the 2021 series was simple and striking, a neat visual cue that tied the releases together and made collectors happy to line them up on a shelf. It tells you exactly what the records do inside. No nostalgia trip, no forced reinvention. Just a band that still treats rhythm as a living thing and captures it with care. That’s why this holds its own next to the early touchstones, and why it’s worth hunting down ACR:EPC vinyl if you see it in a Melbourne record store or while scrolling a site that ships vinyl records Australia wide. Few groups from their cohort feel this present. Fewer still make it sound this effortless.